Traditional media include TV, radio, newspaper, direct mail, billboards, and even online banner ads. You’re aware of the potential audience size for these traditional marketing tactics - a whole ocean, right? Surely you’ll be reaching your potential customers if you utilize these! Well, I’m here to tell you that there’s a better way: patch that hole, sonar the lake for the ideal spot, and make the fish come directly to you using inbound marketing methods.
First, let’s examine the ways using traditional marketing media and methods can feel like fishing with a holey net:
Problem: You don’t have an easy way to research your audience or to know what it is they’re looking for from your business. You don’t know what your website or store audience looks like. You’re making guesses at your audience based on who you’d like to appear in your store - but you haven’t researched or measured your target market to know if you’re spending time and money on the right areas. Worse yet, you’re guessing at the items, perks, or offers you’re making, hoping that your target audience is interested - but never really knowing.
Inbound marketing is about having an engaging, 2-way conversation with your customers to meet their needs with your business. The first step is to research your desired audience - and then attract them by offering knowledge, solutions to problems, and answers to their questions.
Problem: You don’t know if the money you’re spending on traditional media is worth it - you don’t have a way to measure the return on your investment, and you’re not sure you have anything to show for the time and money.
While some digital media can seem like the answer to this problem (you can see how many people saw the ad, how many clicked on it, and even whether or not they purchased or filled out a form), it doesn’t completely solve the issue. Even though you may be targeting the "right" audience with your paid advertisements, the final issue here is timing: the audience just might not be in the market at that exact moment. In-your-face traditional media, digital banner ads and search engine marketing ads are disruptive and jolting, defeating the purpose of your market research and the 2-way conversation you were hoping for!
Enter: inbound marketing methodology. Inbound is all about attracting potential customers to your site as they’re looking for the solution you provide. They were searching for and reading about their problem, and then your content, your site, your solution shows up to give them knowledge and convert them to your product. The beauty is, they’re in control of the timing, and they have a positive decision-making experience. You’ve helped solve their problem, and they’ve rewarded you with their business. That's what inbound is all about!